Middle schooler Ben spends his free time watching sci-fi films, playing video games and reading comic books. Surprisingly, his affinity for all things fantastical yields a real result – when he has a vivid dream about technology, his prodigy best friend Wolfgang manages to create a working spacecraft. Joined by their buddy Darren, the boys take off into outer space and encounter some very odd extraterrestrial life.
Practical Effects
The homemade spacecraft still looks more real than most CGI.
Acting
River Phoenix's weird intense energy steals every scene.
Direction
Joe Dante's creature-feature DNA peeking through family-film constraints.
Director
Joe Dante
Ethan Hawke
Ben Crandall
River Phoenix
Wolfgang Müller
Jason Presson
Darren Woods
Amanda Peterson
Lori Swenson
Bobby Fite
Steve Jackson
Dana Ivey
Mrs. Müller
James Cromwell
Mr. Müller
Dick Miller
Charlie Drake
Bradley Gregg
Steve Jackson's Gang
Meshach Taylor
Gordon Miller
Danny Nucci
Nasty Kid at School
Taliesin Jaffe
Ludwig Müller
Brooke Bundy
Science Teacher
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Industrial Light & Magic rushed the alien effects; Dante hated them and the theatrical cut suffered. He restored his preferred version in 2020.
This was River Phoenix's first major role and Ethan Hawke's film debut—two legends born from a movie nobody saw.
US
